


Stay

by candycolamorgan



Category: Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-25
Updated: 2013-05-25
Packaged: 2017-12-12 23:41:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/817407
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/candycolamorgan/pseuds/candycolamorgan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Klaus and Caroline don't say goodbye.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stay

She took his arm without question as they walked out of the stadium, and Klaus reveled in the feel of her hands on him, how naturally they fell into step with one other. He silently replayed the moment he leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to her cheek; the way her eyes had fluttered shut so sweetly and how her breath had stopped at the lingering contact, every detail of her reaction making his heart pound with a fierce longing. It was her voice now, in that trademark leading tone, that brought him out of his thoughts.

“So about those messages I left you…” she began slowly, his grin widening at just the mention of her incessant calling earlier that day. “Just delete them all. Like, seriously— you shouldn’t even bother listening to them.” He raised an eyebrow when he turned to look at her, always surprised when she took that bossy tone with him as if he were just another hapless volunteer on one of the many committees she headed.

“Is that so?” he asked sarcastically. “Now why would I go and do that, hmm?” She let out one of those little scoffs he’d become familiar with, and he struggled to hold onto his haughty air in the face of such an adorable expression.

“Fine, if you _want_ to hear twenty three ways I was planning on disemboweling you if you didn’t get here in time, be my guest. I was only trying to be nice and spare you.” He did laugh then, and Caroline couldn’t help the smile that spread across her face in response. She liked it when he laughed. Even more so when she was the one who caused it.

“All the more reason for me to keep them,” he replied. “I’ll be in need of some proper entertainment on my flight back.”

“I don’t know,” she teased lightly. “I was getting _pretty_ creative around the tenth one or so.”

“I’ve no doubt you were,” he agreed easily, his tone irresistibly soft and warm with that hint of naughtiness she’d come to recognize when he was thinking about something _entirely_ different.  

He caught her eye then, and she felt the attraction she’d been trying so hard to hide surge throughout her body with the look he was giving her. His words from before echoed in the forefront of her mind with perfect clarity.

_I intend to be your last._

She’d expected the words to make her eyes roll, or at least provoke a disdainful reply, but in the end it had only succeeded in sending a shiver down her spine. The more she thought about the implications of such a declaration, the more she struggled to even comprehend it. They were immortal, which stood to reason that your last _anything_ would be… forever. 

They eventually reached her car in the deserted parking lot, and she suddenly felt the weight of how alone they were. Everyone had gone home and all her friends were with their families, finally safe from any immediate danger. There was no emergency she had to be concerned about, no secret plan she had to distract him from. The universe had finally given them one night to just be happy and whole, to spend time with their loved ones. She had no conceivable reason to want him to stay, and yet it was with a slight flare of panic that she reacted to what he said next.

“I suppose this is my cue to exit. I don’t want to keep you from your family and friends. Especially not tonight.” He opened the driver’s side door for her, but she didn’t move towards it.

“When does your flight leave?” she asked instead.

“Whenever I say,” he replied a bit smugly, and she cracked a smile even as she shook her head. She should have known Originals didn’t fly commercial.

“So that’s it then?” she began in a mock disappointed voice. “You come all this way at my invitation and you won’t even let me buy you a drink?” His eyes widened in genuine surprise at her offer, but he recovered quickly, the corner of his lips lifting up into a sly smile.

“Well in that case, after you, sweetheart.” He held out his hand to help her into the car, but she reached for the door and shut it, turning back towards him with a smile and taking his arm again.

“Let’s walk.”

***

They ended up at The Grill, of course. It was the one constant inevitability in such a small town, but one Caroline didn’t mind so much. The story of her life could be told by these old walls; from morose pity parties with Bonnie over stupid boys to lunches with Stefan during her difficult transition period, and all the endless intrigues that had unfolded at that bar. It simply felt right that she should be here now as another chapter came to a close.

She welcomed the comforting hum of other people’s voices as she stepped through the door Klaus opened for her. She’d talked practically the whole way there, answering his questions about her plans for the summer and college, as well as suffering through his relentless teasing at her chosen major of Art History. She could tell though, that despite his arrogant assurances that he could teach her more in a week than any professor could in a year, deep down he was pleased at her choice.

They were headed towards the bar when Caroline was stopped by a voice calling out to her.

“Caroline! Over here, sweetie!” They both turned towards the source and Caroline smiled at the sight of her grandma holding court over the group of assorted relatives that had come to visit for her graduation. She made her way over to them after giving Klaus an apologetic little shrug, and he followed closely at her heels, curious about this glimpse into a part of her life he’d never seen.

A chorus of hellos and congratulations rang out when she came up to their table and he looked on as she bent down to hug the elderly lady who had gotten up from her seat to greet her. The chatter that started flying between him was so fast he imagined he would have had a hard time keeping up with them if it weren’t for his supernatural abilities.

It was only when the other woman finally looked over at him with an assessing smile that he instinctively stood a little straighter.

“So is this your young man you’ve told me about?” she asked, regarding him curiously. He saw Caroline blush immediately out of the corner of his eye and he smiled widely. For her part, she wasn’t sure at what he was more amused about; the fact that her grandma had just mistaken him as her boyfriend or _young_.

“Grannie!” she exclaimed exasperatedly, mortified at the hot flush she couldn’t seem to keep down, and the fact that it only deepened the harder she tried. “No, this is Klaus, my—”

He smiled expectantly at her, unsure as to how she’d introduce him. Perhaps as an old acquaintance, or her dressmaker if she was feeling cheeky about it. Possibly even her—

“—friend.”   

He stared at her intently, the wind knocked out of him at her choice of words. The complete lack of hesitation made him wonder if she actually meant it. She didn’t owe him anything, after all, and he doubted whether her family’s opinion of him would matter much to her. He had to battle the strong urge to whisk her away to some secluded spot where he could be alone with her and hold her close; confess in the cover of darkness just how much he’d thought about her while he was away.  

He didn’t have much time to dwell on it though, as her grandmother stuck her hand out to shake his. “It’s always nice to meet Caroline’s friends,” she said kindly. He took the hand she offered, and in one smooth motion that would have made any mother proud, brought it carefully to his lips for a brief, polite kiss.

“The pleasure’s all mine.”

Caroline’s grandmother looked suitably impressed at the gesture, and she looked over to her granddaughter with a questioning brow.

“You’re sure he’s not your boyfriend?”

“ _Grannie_!”

***

It was awhile before they managed to finally pry themselves away from her family, and only _after_ Caroline had regaled them all of how he’d apparently come in sixth place at the 20’s dance costume contest. Which he thought was ludicrous, circumstances being what they were.

“That was a genuine Jos. A Bank bespoke suit, I’ll have you know,” he told her haughtily as they walked towards a bench in the nearby park. “The gold standard of the time if there ever was one.” Caroline only laughed and took a seat, giving him a smug grin.

“Well I guess the judges thought it lacked flair.” He scoffed, shaking his head as he popped the cork off the bottle of champagne he’d grabbed before they left.

“That’s the problem with your generation, no appreciation for subtlety or quality. It’s all gaudy costume jewelry and low necklines with you whelps.” She rolled her eyes as he passed her a glass.

“Yeah, alright _grandpa_ ,” she mocked, taking a sip of her drink. He sat down next to her, biting back a retort in favor of just enjoying her victorious little expression.

They sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes as they finished off their drinks leisurely, seemingly in no rush, and he wondered if she was thinking about how this was the very same bench they’d sat at once before—back when her friends only saw her as the effective distraction she’d become to him. How infatuated he’d already been at that point, and how nothing had changed except for the depth of those feelings.

And if this really was goodbye for a while, as much as it hurt him to admit, he decided he wanted the full Caroline Forbes experience.

“Dance with me,” he said abruptly, setting aside the bottle and his glass on the ground.

“What?” she asked in surprise, blinking up at him with those big blue eyes he guessed had helped her get her way far more than any form of compulsion.

“I’m feeling a bit nostalgic,” he shrugged, hoping his blasé air was convincing enough.    

He held his hand out to her expectantly, and she tried to hold back a smile.

“There’s no music, genius.”

He raised an eyebrow at the way she addressed him, but was far too encouraged by the fact she hadn’t said no outright for the jibe to hit its mark. He took what she said under consideration, though, and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. He looked like he was concentrating on something, and she was about to ask when his eyes flew open and he grinned.

“The house on the corner of Maple and Main, you know it?” She nodded. The cute little yellow one a few blocks away? Sure, she passed it all the time on her way to school. “Just listen,” he instructed gently. She did as he said, concentrating on all the sounds and sifting through the white noise until she eventually heard the low, seductive sound of a trumpet playing through the window from a radio.

“Miles Davis?” she asked skeptically, taking his hand as she stood up. “God, you really are an old man.” He chuckled in that knowing way of his, and her gut twisted with an unmistakable sense of thrill.

“Well, it was either this or that dreaded Miley Cyrus blasting two streets over,” he informed her seriously, twirling her once before he pulled her in close.

“Hey!” she protested laughingly, “Don’t diss my girl, Miley. Fifty years from now you’ll be talking about her like you do Aretha Franklin.” His face crinkled up in the most adorable, offended frown she had ever seen, and it took all she had to bite back her laughter at the sight.

“I _seriously_ doubt that,” he said vehemently, absolutely sure that would never happen. He’d stake his life on it. Literally.

“Yeah, well we’ll see,” she compromised with an impish grin, and Klaus had to swallow down the sudden and immediate reaction he had at her words. Had she even understood the implication of what she’d said? It was an offhand comment, but it still lent itself to the possibility that she thought somehow she’d be there in fifty years, ready to tell him _I told you so_.

God, he couldn’t wait.

She must have recognized the slip of her tongue because she fell silent, the faint hint of a blush painted across her cheeks.

“I never did say thank you,” she finally said after a few minutes of silence. “About helping Damon, and with the witches earlier,” she clarified at his slightly puzzled look.

“Well, I figured someone else should have a shot at them this time. Couldn’t let you have all the fun, now could we?” he joked, trying to lighten the mood.

She rolled her eyes at his glib attitude and said honestly, “Seriously. _Thank you_.” He looked away at the sincerity of her words, a slight frown on his face.

“You don’t need to thank me, Caroline. Not after everything I’ve done.”

“Yes I do,” she insisted firmly. “It’s not like I’m keeping score, here.” He looked up at her alertly.

“Aren’t you, though?” She guessed he had meant for that to come out sarcastically, but there was too much earnestness in his voice for her not to recognize the genuine question behind his carefully constructed façade, and how much her answer would mean to him.

“Maybe before, but not anymore.”

“Oh, really? And why’s that?”

“Because that’s not what friends do.”

He looked directly into her eyes, and she could feel the molten depths boring into her, trying to see if what she said was true. It was the second time she’d referred to him as such, and she could tell he still didn’t trust himself to believe it.

“Is that what we are now?” he asked carefully. “Friends?” His expression looked so vulnerable in that moment that Caroline felt an impulsive need to reassure and soothe him. Reminding herself that this was _Klaus_ they were talking about, before she did anything so foolish as to coddle him, she settled for being facetious.

“Isn’t that what I just said? Or are you waiting for some sky-writing and a billboard? Because you can forget it. I’m saving up for a mini-fridge, remember?”

Her approach must have worked because he laughed loudly, all trace of that sad, hangdog look gone from his face.

“No, no,” he said through his lingering chuckles. “I’ll take your word for it.” He pulled her slightly closer and she was mildly surprised at how comfortable it felt to lean more fully into him. “Although,” he began inquiringly, his tone softening considerably, “I _am_ curious as to what changed your mind.”

“You’re letting Tyler come back,” she answered simply, as if it were obvious. And really, it should have been.

Chasing Tyler out of Mystic Falls had somehow become the focus of all her anger towards him; the only reason she allowed herself to hate him unashamedly, the reason she used as a buffer to all his insidious charm and advances. Not to mention what she tried in vain to remind herself of when she’d awakened from a few particularly heated dreams. His decision on the matter had been what she’d held up to measure her trust in him, or any degree of friendship between them. Now that he’d successfully torn down this last wall between them, she couldn’t help but wonder at what would come rushing in as a result and take the place of all her justified anger and resentment.

It made her doubly curious that now, at a time when he was fighting some kind of war in New Orleans and his reputation was his most powerful weapon, he’d freely given her the one thing that could possibly destroy it. And she realized she wanted to know why. Whether it was just to satisfy her morbid curiosity, or a deeper, more vulnerable question she was too afraid to ask, she needed to know. Why _now_? Why the sudden change of heart?

She didn’t even realize she’d spoken that last bit aloud until he was already answering her.

“I was thinking about you one night,” he began to say in a hushed voice, “wondering about what you were doing, with whom, and if you were… happy.” He said this last with a guilty expression on his face, and she was about to say something when he continued on, determined to explain. “I was imagining all the graduation preparations you were undoubtedly making for you and your friends, and how you’d put on that brave smile for everyone to hide your sorrow, when I realized I was the cause of that grief.”

“Klaus…” she whispered softly, not knowing what to say.

“You asked me once if I could do anything decent,” he said in a rush, “and maybe this doesn’t count because of how much I still have yet to make right with you, or because I’m doing this for purely selfish reasons—”

“What reasons?” she interrupted suddenly, the small part of her that had doubted him flaring up again. He looked over her expression and smiled almost affectionately, as if she’d said something endearing.

“Tyler will keep you safe— _happy_ ,” he said slowly, every word deliberate and sincere. “I’ve come to realize that’s all I want.”

Caroline was aware of something shifting deep within her chest, and she felt the sudden baffling urge to cry with all the conflicted emotions that roiled within her. She let out a ragged breath as she tried to hold them all in, the palm of her hand unconsciously sliding down from his shoulder to the flat of his chest. She could feel the furious pounding of his heart beneath the finely tailored suit, and she wondered how anyone could have ever doubted its existence.  

 “Your heart’s racing,” she pointed out unnecessarily, seeing as how they both could easily hear its frantic pace. He let out a somewhat weak chuckle.

“Like a hummingbird?” She looked up at him at the reference of their conversation from that day, and her own heart hammered within her chest at the unspoken implication her fuzzy mind was still trying to decipher.

“Yeah,” she breathed out softly.

“Perhaps it’s because I finally understand now.” His eyes silently dared her to ask, and she knew she shouldn’t, but the temptation to get a glimpse into the depth of his true feelings suddenly outweighed any other considerations.

“Understand what?” He stopped dancing as he focused the entire weight of his gaze on her, but didn’t let go of his grip on her hand and waist.

“What it means to fight with every breath in my body to make the most of what little time I have.”

The precipice she didn’t even realize she’d been standing on this entire time suddenly crumbled beneath her in a devastating tide of all those dark desires Silas had taunted her about. All the guilt she’d ever harbored over her confused feelings about him seemed insignificant, if not entirely irrelevant now.

The simple, undeniable truth of her existence washed over her, absolving her of any fear or doubts. _She was a vampire._ When all was said and done, she didn’t answer to anyone or anything but herself. She didn’t have to explain or justify her actions and feelings; she could take everything and anything she’d ever wanted. The darker part of her nature she’d denied and suppressed for so long finally rose to the surface with a vengeance, freeing her from the concerns and consequences that had shackled her all this time.

It was with that realization that she pulled him down roughly and crushed her lips against his.

Caroline could feel the jolt of shock that went through him, and she pulled on the lapels of his jacket harder, urging him to respond. She pressed her tongue to the seam of his lips and he let out a loud gasp, pulling away.

“ _Caroline_ …” he said in a warning tone, his voice too ragged and uneven for her to take much stock in it. Ignoring him, she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling herself up to kiss him again. This time she could hear his sharp intake of breath, and a moment later the release of it as he finally kissed her back, his hands moving down her side to anchor her firmly against him.

A pleased sound somewhere between a giggle and a laugh fell from her lips, and with a blur of supernatural movement, she suddenly found herself backed up against a brick wall. The dimly lit alley made it hard for her to see anything more than a few feet away, and the darkness spread out in every direction, isolating the two of them from everything but each other.

Klaus tried to take his time, savor every moment and detail so he could replay it over in his mind when she eventually ended this interlude, but when she tilted her head to the side and guided his lips to the curve of her neck, he realized there would be no going slow.

A broken cry escaped her when he began pressing wet, open mouthed kisses to the sensitive area, and her fingers clutched tighter at his short curls, pulling him impossibly closer. Her hips jerked against him and he let out an almost pained grunt as he pulled away a bit.

“Sweetheart,” he begged unashamedly, “don’t make this any more difficult than it already is.” She knew he was talking about how he was leaving, their imminent goodbye, but she didn’t want to make it difficult— she wanted to make it _impossible_. She wanted to bind him in chains to her and make it so he never even thought for a moment about what life would be like without her.

The lurking desire to utterly destroy him and piece him back together with her bare hands, to ruin him for anyone else, pumped through her veins thickly. She started speaking without even thinking through the consequences, only aware that it was the truth of what she wanted.

“Stay, then,” she whispered fiercely, reaching past the opening of his jacket to wrap her arms around his waist. “ _I want you to stay_ ,” she continued, trembling at the looming sense that they were finally coming to the end of something.

“I can’t,” he said raggedly, the frayed remains of all his self-control evident in his voice. “I can’t be selfish with you, love. I don’t want to hold you back from all you’re meant to do.” She whimpered in protest, and he reached up to cup the side of her face comfortingly, brushing his thumb gently across her cheekbone. She leaned further into his touch and the sight of such trust made his knees buckle with an unbearable longing.

“You’re going to live a full life, Caroline,” he rasped out unevenly. “You’re going to meet new people and see places you never imagined existed—experience the entire spectrum of human emotion: pain, joy, betrayal, _love_. And when you’ve done all of that, exhausted every understanding there was ever meant to be understood… you’ll find your way back to me.”

Her breath hitched unsteadily at the way he made it sound like an undeniable truth and not a distant possibility in a vast future of uncertainties. She didn’t hold back the tears that fell then, and his throat vibrated with muted growls as he kissed them away. His hand passed over her collarbones in a soothing motion, and she felt him drag it slowly up her neck until he was holding her head within his grasp.

“You’ll find your way back to me,” he reiterated, and she wasn’t sure if it was to convince her or himself. “And then we’ll start forever. Together.” His lips brushed her forehead in an unexpectedly gentle kiss, and before Caroline knew what happened, there was a gust of wind and he was gone.

She pressed her fingers to her lips to try and stem the sobs that wracked her body, and her palm eventually drifted down her neck, desperate to remember the feel of where his hands had been.

It was with a confused frown that she noticed she was missing her necklace, and she scanned the ground before realizing that he must have taken it. She let out a watery laugh.

She’d get it back.

Someday. 


End file.
